Passive aerodynamic load mitigation system
US4804154A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 29, 1988 |
| Grant date | Feb 14, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 29, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01M9/06
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A passive load mitigation system for supporting transducers on a body moving through a fluid stream is described. According to the invention, a streamlined aerodynamic surface for supporting the transducers is attached to the body via a pivot axis. The axis supports the surface in a torsionally unrestrained manner in at least one rotational degree of freedom about the pivot axis. Therefore, as the body moves through the fluid stream, the surface remains substantially parallel to the plane of the stream. Aerodynamic stability is ensured by forming the surface with substantially trapezoidal or parallelogram shaped sidewalls and by mounting the surface on the pivot axis such that the surface's aerodynamic center is located downstream of the pivot axis. Flutter is prevented or substantially reduced by increasing the surface's bending stiffness or by incorporating ballast weights on a tip pod attached to a portion of the surface.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.